"What do you have that you did not receive?" (1 Cor. 4:7)
Everything I own was once "not mine." Such an obvious statement, why is worth saying at all?
Well, one day it will no longer be mine. As they say, "You can't take it with you!"
So what?
When I reflect on the temporal nature of life, I tend to be more generous. More generous with my time, possessions, money, and other resources. Some claim that when they are more generous, they receive more generosity. Perhaps as we adopt a sense of "flow" with those things that we usually want to keep to ourselves (I can hear it now, "My Own! My Pre-cioussss!") we will actually find that there really is a goodness that transcends our little spheres of personal reality.
We must learn to distinguish between what we will and will not be "taking with us." And we must certainly silence the "Inner Gollum"!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Complete in Him
"You are complete in Him, who is the head of all rule and authority." (Col. 2:10)
What does my "completeness" have to do with "rule and authority"?
To the degree that human power structures and institutions define me, I will be incomplete.
Do you think of Jesus as being "in charge"? Do you ever get frustrated with our leaders - whether political, business, or even religious? With all the messes in the world, how can we even say that God cares?
"My kingdom is not of this world," Jesus says. "Of" here could also be translated as "from," the idea being that the source of our identity - the status of our citizenship - is from the King Messiah who is in heaven. We must not let things "on earth" set the terms for our spiritual life.
This does not mean we want to "escape" the world - though this is a common view in popular evangelicalism. Rather, we bring the Messiah's Kingdom to the earth. "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." So goes the Lord's Prayer.
The Apostle Paul puts it this way later on in the same letter:
"Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."
And a few lines later,
"And whatsoever you do, do it singleness of heart, as unto the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord you shall receive a reward of the inheritance: for you serve the Lord Messiah."
No matter what our earthly demographic coordinates might be, by keeping our eyes on Yeshua we will maintain an orientation to the world such that in bringing His love and service to address the needs of others as the Spirit leads, we also remember that it is He who calls and defines us. This is how we find our "completion in Him" - by living "in" this world while trusting in His leadership and lordship over our souls.
What does my "completeness" have to do with "rule and authority"?
To the degree that human power structures and institutions define me, I will be incomplete.
Do you think of Jesus as being "in charge"? Do you ever get frustrated with our leaders - whether political, business, or even religious? With all the messes in the world, how can we even say that God cares?
"My kingdom is not of this world," Jesus says. "Of" here could also be translated as "from," the idea being that the source of our identity - the status of our citizenship - is from the King Messiah who is in heaven. We must not let things "on earth" set the terms for our spiritual life.
This does not mean we want to "escape" the world - though this is a common view in popular evangelicalism. Rather, we bring the Messiah's Kingdom to the earth. "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." So goes the Lord's Prayer.
The Apostle Paul puts it this way later on in the same letter:
"Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."
And a few lines later,
"And whatsoever you do, do it singleness of heart, as unto the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord you shall receive a reward of the inheritance: for you serve the Lord Messiah."
No matter what our earthly demographic coordinates might be, by keeping our eyes on Yeshua we will maintain an orientation to the world such that in bringing His love and service to address the needs of others as the Spirit leads, we also remember that it is He who calls and defines us. This is how we find our "completion in Him" - by living "in" this world while trusting in His leadership and lordship over our souls.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Truly Human
"For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. "
What is Paul saying here in his letter to the new community of "Jesus-believers" at Colosse? What does it mean for us today?
Each of us has had many, many teachers over the course of our life. Who sticks out in your life as a teacher? Why do you consider them a teacher? Now some will say, "Everyone is my teacher" or, "Life is my teacher." Yeah, well that's not what I'm talking about.
The way I'm using 'teacher' here is someone who not only embodies the knowledge or wisdom that you value, but they are a master at transmitting that mastery to others, perhaps even to you. As an example from my own pursuit of stellar musicianship, I have had the privilege of private or Master Class study with musicians who, for me, embodied unsurpassed fluency with the language of music. What's more, some of them were master teachers as well. Studying "at the feet" of a master is - with all its challenges, corrections, and inspirations - a great joy.
In the world of ancient Judaism, a valued occupation (for the most part exclusive to males) was the study of the Torah of Moses. But where would one go to learn? The first place would be the father, but if the father was not able to educate his sons they would seek to study "at the feet of" a master. The "Torah Master" was considered to be the source of traditional learning. One accessed the ancient traditions not through the private study of a text (Note: no "books" back then - only expensive scrolls which were used for public reading), but by spending significant amounts of time with one who received the traditions a generation or two ahead of you. While much of this discipleship depended upon memorization of sacred text, the bulk of the transmitted tradition was in the "how to," ranging from tying shoes to washing hands, from breaking bread to interactions with others. There was no action the master could take that was not understood by the student-disciple as an expression of the sacred tradition - as "Torah."
What does all this have to do with Paul's statement in Colossians that "In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily"(2:9)? Well, because they were so used to the "master/student" culture, the Jews loyal to Yeshua of Nazareth after His ascension were having to learn to discern between traditions that aligned with the Messiah's instructions and those that did not. Only by "walking in the Spirit" could they keep in touch with their Rabbi. Indeed, there were other individuals who claimed to be "the Messiah," other teachers who claimed to represent the "authentic" revelation from God. (Such advertisements can be very tempting, especially in times of uncertainty and persecution or when self-doubt presses on our door.) However, the Apostle Paul encouraged the Colossians to stay focused on the Head, and affirmed Christ's complete sufficiency - even in his apparent physical absence - as their One Teacher. While teachers come and go in our lives, we will always only have one Teacher.
The Greek phrase behind the "dwelling bodily" idea is more literally "en-housed," if there was such a word in English. He is it. If you want to know God, go to Jesus. He is not some disembodied spirit. He is the fullness of God in the flesh. As the Gospel of John begins, "The word became flesh and tabernacled among us." In His resurrection He did not abandon His humanity. Rather, he became truly human - more human than you or I. And it is through Him and only Him, in simple faith, that we can receive God's fullness for our own lives.
That is why Paul, in the very next line of Colossians, begins, "And you are complete in Him."
What is Paul saying here in his letter to the new community of "Jesus-believers" at Colosse? What does it mean for us today?
Each of us has had many, many teachers over the course of our life. Who sticks out in your life as a teacher? Why do you consider them a teacher? Now some will say, "Everyone is my teacher" or, "Life is my teacher." Yeah, well that's not what I'm talking about.
The way I'm using 'teacher' here is someone who not only embodies the knowledge or wisdom that you value, but they are a master at transmitting that mastery to others, perhaps even to you. As an example from my own pursuit of stellar musicianship, I have had the privilege of private or Master Class study with musicians who, for me, embodied unsurpassed fluency with the language of music. What's more, some of them were master teachers as well. Studying "at the feet" of a master is - with all its challenges, corrections, and inspirations - a great joy.
In the world of ancient Judaism, a valued occupation (for the most part exclusive to males) was the study of the Torah of Moses. But where would one go to learn? The first place would be the father, but if the father was not able to educate his sons they would seek to study "at the feet of" a master. The "Torah Master" was considered to be the source of traditional learning. One accessed the ancient traditions not through the private study of a text (Note: no "books" back then - only expensive scrolls which were used for public reading), but by spending significant amounts of time with one who received the traditions a generation or two ahead of you. While much of this discipleship depended upon memorization of sacred text, the bulk of the transmitted tradition was in the "how to," ranging from tying shoes to washing hands, from breaking bread to interactions with others. There was no action the master could take that was not understood by the student-disciple as an expression of the sacred tradition - as "Torah."
What does all this have to do with Paul's statement in Colossians that "In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily"(2:9)? Well, because they were so used to the "master/student" culture, the Jews loyal to Yeshua of Nazareth after His ascension were having to learn to discern between traditions that aligned with the Messiah's instructions and those that did not. Only by "walking in the Spirit" could they keep in touch with their Rabbi. Indeed, there were other individuals who claimed to be "the Messiah," other teachers who claimed to represent the "authentic" revelation from God. (Such advertisements can be very tempting, especially in times of uncertainty and persecution or when self-doubt presses on our door.) However, the Apostle Paul encouraged the Colossians to stay focused on the Head, and affirmed Christ's complete sufficiency - even in his apparent physical absence - as their One Teacher. While teachers come and go in our lives, we will always only have one Teacher.
The Greek phrase behind the "dwelling bodily" idea is more literally "en-housed," if there was such a word in English. He is it. If you want to know God, go to Jesus. He is not some disembodied spirit. He is the fullness of God in the flesh. As the Gospel of John begins, "The word became flesh and tabernacled among us." In His resurrection He did not abandon His humanity. Rather, he became truly human - more human than you or I. And it is through Him and only Him, in simple faith, that we can receive God's fullness for our own lives.
That is why Paul, in the very next line of Colossians, begins, "And you are complete in Him."
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